Tool



L. D. BARON May 5, 1970 TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2'7, 1968 hill517704 LAWRENCE D. BARON MgM A TTOIPA EYI.

y 5, 1970 L. 0. BARON 3,509,787

TOOL

Filed y 27, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet a United States Patent 3,509,787 TOOLLawrence D. Baron, 2219 Napfle St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19152 Filed May27, 1968, Ser. No. 732,397 Int. Cl. B25b 13/02 US. Cl. 81-419 4 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bifurcated tool for twisting devicessupported at an elevated position is disclosed. The tool is providedwith a latch means so that the tool may be automatically latched to thedevice to prevent undesired separation.

This invention relates to a bifurcated tool, and more particularly, to abifurcated tool for twisting devices supported at an elevated position.An examples of such a device is the cage for an electrical devicemounted on the ceiling of a room. More particularly, the electric lightbulbs in gymnasiums are generally provided with a cage surrounding thesame to prevent the bulbs from being inadvertently broken.

The tool of the present invention includes an elongated handle. Thehandle may have separable components or may be of a telescoping type tofacilitate reaching elevated positions. The tool is provided with alatching means such as detents whereby the cage will not separate fromthe tool while the tool is being moved from a vertical position to ahorizontal position and vice versa.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel bifurcatedtool for twisting devices supported at an elevated position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelbifurcated tool for twisting devices supported at an elevated position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a bifurcatedtool having a latching means to prevent inadvertent separation betweenthe tool and a device to be rotated thereby.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel toolfor twisting devices which is simple, economical, reliable, and easy tomanufacture.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood,however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangementsand instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the tool of the present invention whenbeing used.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tool shown in FIG. 1 but on anenlarged scale and minus the handle.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation view of the tool shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken along the line 44 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate likeelements, there is shown in FIG. 1 a tool designated generally as 10.The tool 10 includes a head 12 and a handle 14. The tool as illustratedis adapted to twist a cage 16. Cage 16 is threadedly mounted insurrounding relationship with respect to an electric light bulb 18threaded to a socket on ceiling 20.

The head 12 is provided with an integral hollow extension or tubularportion 22. The handle 14 is telescoped into portion 22 and removablyconnected thereto by means 3,509,787 Patented May 5, 1970 of a bolt 24.One or more such bolts may be utilized as desired.

The head 12 is generally rectangular and is provided with a plurality ofprojections which terminate in flat end faces lying in the same plane.As illustrated, four such projections are provided, designated as 26,28, 30 and 32. The projections are defined by intersecting slots 34 and36 lying in mutually perpendicular planes. The slots 34 and 36 have adepth which is less than the height of the head 12.

The slots 34 and 36 are preferably made by a circular milling tool so asto define arcuate surfaces on the bottom of the grooves as shown moreclearly in FIG. 5. The corner of each projection at the intersection ofslots 34 and 36 is preferably beveled as illustrated more clearly inFIG. 4 by use of a drill bit.

The tool 12 is provided with a latching means. As shown, the latchingmeans is designed to interconnect the tool and cage so as to preventundesired separation of the same. An example of such undesiredseparation is when the handle 14 is being moved from a solid lineposition as shown in FIG. 1 to a phantom position as shown in FIG. 1.During such movement, it is undesirable to permit the cage 16 to fallfreely.

The latching means as illustrated is in the form of sets of detents. Asshown more clearly in FIG. 6, projection 32 has a ball detent 38 andprojection 26 has an oppositely disposed ball detent 40. As shown moreclearly in FIG. 4, the ball detents are aligned and extending towardsare each other into the slot 34. Similar ball detents 42 and 44 areprovided on the projections 30 and 32 respectively.

All of the ball detents are identical. Hence, only those shown in FIG. 6will be described in detail. Ball 38 is biased to the position shown bymeans of spring 48. The tension of spring 48 is controlled by rotatingthe threaded plug 46. Ball 40 is biased to the position shown in FIG. 6by spring 52. The tension of spring 52 is controlled by rotating thethreaded plug 50. The ball detents are at an elevation which isapproximately one-half the depth of the groove 34. While only groove 34is provided with detents, groove 36 may also be provided with detents ifdesired. The plugs 46 and 50 may be provided with a screwdriver slot orwith an Allen wrench socket to facilitate adjusting the same asillustrated.

If desired, the interior of head 12 may be drilled to provide a passage54. Passage 54 communicates with the hollow interior of portion 22 andthe slots 34 and 36 at the intersection of said slots.

In view of the above description, a detailed recitation of operation isnot deemed necessary. The cage may be manually attached to the head 12by pushing the same inwardly until it is held by the ball detents.Thereafter, the handle 14 may be elevated to a position wherein it isdesired to thread the cage 16 to a mating ring surrounding the electriclight bulb 18. The tool may be utilized for rotating other devices inaddition to cages. I

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and,accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, ratherthan to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A tool comprising a head having projections defined by intersectingslots extending from an end face of the head, a handle attached to theend of said head remote from said face, and ball detents on some of saidprojections for latching said head to a device to be rotated by saidhead, said ball detents projecting into at least one of said slots.

2. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said slots are providedwith curved bottom surfaces.

3. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said head has four suchprojections defined by the intersection of two slots at right angles toeach other, and said ball detents projecting into only one of said slotson opposite sides of the other slot.

4. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said end face is flat, andsaid projections are generally rectangular in configuration, eachprojection having a beveled corner adjacent the intersection of saidslots.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,218,631 10/1940 West et a1.14.5-50.1

5 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner L. GILDEN, Assistant Examiner

